Jotun has posted profit before taxes of NOK 464 million on revenues of NOK 5.6 billion for the first four months of 2018, compared to profit before taxes of NOK 643 million on revenues of NOK 5.3 billion for the same period last year.

The company said that sales increased by 6 per cent compared with the same period last year, driven by growth in Decorative Paints and in the Protective and Powder Coatings segments. However, weak demand for new tonnage in the shipping industry depressed sales of Jotun Marine Coatings.

According to Jotun CEO Morten Fon, one in five vessels trading today are coated by Jotun.

“Jotun remains the world’s largest marine coatings supplier so when the market is weak, it impacts our business,” he said. “In the short term, we do not anticipate improvement in this market. The remaining three segments experience good sales growth”.

The decline in earnings was also attributed to rising raw material prices as well as lower sales of marine coatings.

“We have seen weak marine and offshore markets for a long time, and expect this to continue also going forward,” said Fon. “We have taken steps to adjust to this challenge by controlling costs rigorously. As the effect of increased raw material prices will continue to influence Jotun in the months to come, price increases will be necessary.”